Councils given access to £1m Planning Enforcement Fund to secure injunctions

Councils looking to secure a court injunction for planning breaches will be able to apply for up to £10,000 per case through a new £1m Planning Enforcement Fund, the Communities Secretary has said.

The Department for Communities and Local Government said that over the last ten years local planning authorities had obtained an average of 60 injunctions a year, typically for the most serious breaches. However, councils have had to shoulder the cost of securing those injunctions.

The average cost of an injunction between 2011 and 2013 was approximately £13,000.

“The new fund now provides a significant boost to the capacity of local authorities to take legal action against those flouting planning rules,” the DCLG said.

A scheme administrator has been appointed to manage the fund. There will be £200,000 made available until March 2015, while a further £800,000 will be available for 2015/16.

Local planning authorities can apply for half their legal costs or up to £10,000, whichever is the lesser figure.

Information on the fund can be viewed here. The DCLG plans to review before March 2016 whether it can become self-funding.

Eric Pickles said: “[Residents] rightly expect fair play in the system and for their council to take action when people flout the rules.

“This new £1 million fund gives councils the tools they need in the fight against unauthorised development, so they should not be afraid to go through the courts to tackle serious breaches of planning law.”